


Dead of Night

by danceswithgary



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Established Relationship, Horror, M/M, Temporary Character Death, Vampires
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-11-02
Updated: 2010-11-02
Packaged: 2017-10-13 01:01:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/131078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/danceswithgary/pseuds/danceswithgary
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>John meets an old enemy who's changed for the worse.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dead of Night

[  
Click for fullsize](http://pics.livejournal.com/danceswithgary/pic/0027b245)

John walked through the gate alone and shuddered under a chilling slash of rain, peering through the murk of rapidly fading daylight to find no one waiting to greet him. Experience had been a brutal teacher in the Pegasus galaxy, so he immediately eliminated an ambush from the list of possible dangers with a quick check of his life signs detector. Considering the heavy roll of thunder and the lightning that suddenly highlighted the snaggled branches of the barren trees along the muddy footpath, John would have been surprised to see anyone waiting at the gate. In fact, the person who had sent the message couldn't have known how long it would take for it to reach John, so he likely would have been unescorted even on the sunniest of days.

Resigning himself to a cold, wet slog, John hunched inside his jacket, flipped up the collar in a futile attempt to keep the rain out, and then set off toward the village. He felt numb, distanced from a reality gone terribly wrong as he made the journey alone, but his team's absence was the reason John had gone against Carter's direct orders. He'd refused to accept the loss of Ronon, Teyla and Rodney, to leave them behind for dead simply because Carter had refused to capitulate to Kolya's demands.

It had been one thing for John to insist that Atlantis leave him to the rogue Genii's torture by wraith, but he would never accept the same fate for his team. John shuddered as he imagined their screams, the withering of skin and muscle, the dimming of their bright lives. All of them were important to him, but Rodney held John's heart and he couldn't catch his breath whenever he considered life without him.

It seemed as though no time had passed before John was entering the dark, silent village, only the occasional flicker of fire or candlelight visible through the cracks of the closed shutters and wooden walls of the rustic cottages. Making his way to the headman's dwelling, John knocked against the rough-hewn door and called out, "Eldred? It's Sheppard."

It was hard to hear anything over the pounding rain and rolling thunder, but John thought he could detect some sort of movement inside. Trying again, he used the butt of his P90 to hammer against the wood, raising his voice to a rasping shout. "Hey! Anyone home? It's Sheppard! I got your message!"

The door slowly creaked open a few inches, just enough that John could see a slice of pale face and an eye wide with fear. A hoarse voice asked shakily, "That you, Sheppard? You…you came here…at night?"

John's first impulse was to shove his way inside, but he held back and kept his voice as even as he could as he responded, "Wasn't going to wait until morning, Eldred. You going to let me in so we can talk?"

Eldred took so long to answer that John began to wonder if he'd made a mistake trusting the other man. Finally, the door swung open and Eldred silently waved him inside, Eldred's shoulders hunched as if anticipating a blow. The moment John crossed the threshold, Eldred slammed the door shut behind him and lowered a wooden bar to shut out the stormy night as he apologized. "I'm sorry, Sheppard, but it's not safe to wander outside at night, not since the man you are seeking arrived at the tower."

"Kolya…is here?" John had anticipated Eldred passing along information from traders about possible sightings, not Kolya's actual presence on the planet. His visceral need to rush to the tower almost overwhelmed John, but he fought back the impulse knowing how important it would be to understand what he'd be facing.

Eldred shook his head, frowning. "I am sorry, but there's not much else I can tell you. There are lights every night in the upper rooms, but no one from the Royal Court has been seen for weeks, and the few who've ventured near claim the tower reeks of death. Even here in the village, it isn't safe to walk about after the sun sets. We've heard terrible screams outside our doors, but there's been little to be found the next day save signs of a struggle and sometimes blood."

Wringing his hands, he glanced worriedly at the door as he continued. "When I learned that the Lanteans were looking for an older Genii with a pock-marked face and a scar on his left cheek, I hoped you would be able to help us again, as you did with the Lord Protector's and the Royal Court's demands for tribute."

Already thinking about how he could get inside the tower undetected, John nodded absently. "If it's Kolya causing the problem, then yeah, I'm your man."

"But…alone?"

John barely restrained a flinch at Eldred's innocent question, one that made it clear that John could forego asking whether his team had been seen in the village or tower. He shrugged and said in a voice sounding more confident than he felt, "I've taken the bastard on before and won."

"Then at least wait until morning, and then Baldric can go as far as the gates with you. You're welcome to…."

Dread flooded through John's veins at the thought of any further delay. "No. It has to be now." He turned toward the door and lifted the bar before Eldred could say another word. "I have to finish this."

Outside, the rain still battered the village, deadly lightning the only illumination beyond the weak gleam of the light mounted on John's P90. The poor visibility barely slowed his rush toward the tower, and then he was there looking up at the light flickering through the windows of the topmost chamber. He reached for the city, tried to access its controls with no success. It was as dead as he'd left it, the ZPM depleted the day he'd fought and won the duel with Otho.

The lack of power didn't matter because the doors had been left wide open and, as he stepped through them to stand overlooking the banquet hall, the reason for the sickly sweet scent of decay became apparent between flashes of lightning. While the assembled courtiers were wearing their finest, they weren't looking - or smelling - their best. John paused the few moments required to determine their cause of death hadn't been a wraith, then left the macabre party behind and headed toward the stairs and the light above.

As he climbed, he checked his life signs detector, and the single glowing dot, one where there should have been at least four, felt like a body blow.

John felt as if he were drifting up the stairs, detached from the reality that tried to intrude with hard proof that he'd failed again. Only the possibility of revenge kept him going, the need to bring Kolya down once and for all. At the top, he oriented himself and began to advance toward the life sign he was pursuing, only to stop in confusion as the dot flickered a few times and then went out.

Frustrated rage roared through John and he sprinted down the hallway, refusing to believe he'd come so close only to lose his chance. The door at the end was open, the room illuminated by dozens of candles, and he stumbled to a halt when he saw several contorted bodies entwined on an immense bed. He walked closer, slowly, as if he might be able to reverse time if he could input the right variable into the correct equation before he reached his apex and spun off the world into endless night.

Minus the necessary numbers, he was left alone with the image of Ronon, pallid and staring into nothing, throat torn open, wrists and ankles raw under cruel chains; Teyla minus her enigmatic smile, dull-eyed and twisted into a form she'd never taught John in all their lessons, the gentle rise of her gravid belly stained dark. It was Rodney he finally reached out to, needing to touch the moon-pale skin one last time but recoiling at the livid bites and ooze of blood beneath Rodney's jaw, and then John shuddered as he realized the meaning of the faint warmth lingering under his fingertips, the hint of life not supported by breath or pulse.

A voice John would never forget brought him spinning around with his P90 at the ready.

"Colonel Sheppard. How unfortunate. You just missed your chance to say goodbye to Dr. McKay."

John's voice cracked, shattered by his failure and not caring who heard. "Kolya?" He peered into the deep shadows across the room, a quick glance at his life signs detector leaving him puzzled by the single dot that insisted he was alone.

The deep voice echoed through the room, giving no hint to Kolya's location. "He begged for their lives, to go first in the hope that you'd arrive in time to save them. I must admit that his anguish was exquisite when I forced him to watch, and I took from them slowly so that they would last for days."

"I'm going to kill you this time, Kolya, and I'll make sure you feel everything they did and more before I let you die!" John snarled, revolving slowly in the center of the room as he searched for a hidden doorway or speaker.

The heavy roll of laughter at John's threat rivaled the storm outside. "I think you'll find it a great deal more difficult than you might believe, Colonel. I've undergone a few _changes_ since we last met."

The candles flickered in an odd breeze and the shadows opposite the grim tableau suddenly parted to reveal Kolya standing there, his stark gray clothing excellent camouflage in the dim light. John wasted no time on words, firing instantly at Kolya's knees in an attempt to cripple him, still intent on making him suffer as much as John's team had before dying.

Koyla stood there and laughed at John's attempt, ignoring the bloodless wounds visible through the multiple bullet holes shredding his pants. He stepped forward with his arms outstretched, displaying a set of sharp, extended canines within a wide smile. "I believe it's my turn now, Colonel."

Feeling as though he were moving in slow-motion, John backed up a step in horror, the significance of the wounds defacing his team suddenly becoming clear. Something rolled under his boot and he stumbled hard, firing his P90 in an uncontrolled burst that did nothing to slow Kolya's steady advance. Another step and the back of John's knees hit the mattress, an inadvertent glance over his shoulder emphasizing the horror of a transformation Teyla and Ronon had insisted was unknown in the Pegasus galaxy, his attention returning to his own peril just as Kolya struck.

With disconcerting ease, Kolya ripped the P90 from John's grasp and flung it across the room, then grabbed John by the throat and shook him with an extraordinary strength. John used every hand-to-hand trick Ronon and Teyla had taught him to no avail, the two of them crashing around the room in explosive destruction, Kolya's unbreakable grip robbing John of air until his sight dimmed and he hung limp in Kolya's grasp.

His will to go on as broken as his team, John closed his eyes and waited for the end, only to hear a choked cry and feel Kolya release him. He fell to the floor gasping for breath, Kolya's body thudding down next to him, with what appeared to be a splintered chair leg protruding from his heart. John searched the room for his unexpected savior, his eyes widening in disbelief when Rodney staggered into view, carrying a second makeshift stake.

"Rodney!" John croaked, barely able to speak through the damage to his throat. He scrambled to his feet, intent on touching the miracle that was Rodney. "God, you're alive!" He missed his goal when Rodney lurched backward, his wooden weapon a barrier between them.

Rodney's voice was low and raw-sounding, as if he'd spent hours screaming. "No, John." He grimaced and John's heart broke again.

"Not you," John whispered, reaching out. "Please, not you."

His eyes pleading with John, Rodney extended the stake. John shook his head and backed away. "I can't." Rodney advanced, still offering John his only salvation. "No," John moaned. "No, I won't do it, Rodney. Don't ask me to kill you."

Rodney's smile was sad as he said, "You're the only one who can, John." He reached out, grabbed John's shoulder and shook it, saying, "Hey, hey, it's okay. Come on, John. You need to wake up."

"Wha…Rodney?" John sat up in a rush, blinking away the fog of sleep as he blearily peered around an undisturbed room. "The hell?"

"That must have been some nightmare you were having." Rodney held out a hand and helped John to his feet, holding him steady as he swayed for a moment. "Maybe a team vampire movie marathon for Halloween wasn't such a great idea after all."

Still feeling uncertain that he'd left the dream behind, John asked, "Where are Ronon and Teyla? Are they okay?"

"Of course, they are," Rodney assured him with a slight frown as he tugged John toward the bedroom. "They left after _Dracula_ finished because you fell asleep. I don't think they were very impressed with the movies anyway. Ronon said vampires were easy to kill compared to wraith, although he liked the fighting in _Blade_ , and Teyla thought the women were 'too often foolish in their choices' and I suspect that Kanaan may have an interesting night ahead of him." Standing next to their bed, Rodney helped John with his clothes, his nose wrinkling in mild disgust when John's sweat-drenched t-shirt whacked him in the face. "Okay, you reek. We're definitely hitting the shower before crawling into bed."

John didn't argue, thinking it would relax muscles still tight with horror, but the water pounding down reminded John of the storm he'd traveled through and he shuddered hard enough under Rodney's gently roving hands to make Rodney concerned. "Really bad one, huh? What the hell were you dreaming about anyway? Wandering around Dracula's castle with a crucifix and garlic?"

"Something like that." John shrugged away the questions and quickly dried himself off, hoping that ignoring the nightmare would let it fade faster. "Don't really want to talk about it."

A fresh t-shirt and boxers later, and John was ready to try to rest, if not sleep, knowing he wasn't up for anything else and glad Rodney didn't seem to be either. By resting his head on Rodney's shoulder, John was positioned so that he could look out the window at the stars in the reassuringly clear Lantean night, and he tilted his head enough to nuzzle under the curve of Rodney's jaw, to feel his heartbeat against his lips. He didn't say anything when Rodney pulled him a little closer and asked if he was okay, just nodded and then listened to Rodney's breathing soften into sleep, waiting for the sun to rise.

**Author's Note:**

> Written for [Spook Me 2010](http://spook-me.livejournal.com/7978.html) and [McSheplets Challenge #83 Under the Weather](http://community.livejournal.com/mcsheplets/).   
> I chose vampire (originally for Smallville but that story stalled) and the image prompts were   
> [](http://pics.livejournal.com/danceswithgary/pic/00270r78) and [](http://pics.livejournal.com/danceswithgary/pic/00271a6e)


End file.
